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First Bitcoin-Friendly Governors Elected in United States

November 6th’s midterm elections saw two governors elected who have been at the vanguard of political acceptance of cryptocurrencies in the United States. The first was Colorado’s Jared Polis and the second was California’s Gavin Newsom. As the soon-to-be lead executives of their states, Governor-elect Polis and Governor-elect Newsom will have chances to set national examples toward crypto.

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Bitcoin-Friendly Polis To Head Up Colorado

As news organizations called the Colorado Governor’s race for Representative Jared Polis (D-CO) late on Tuesday evening, he was hailed as being set to become the first openly gay governor in American history. That was a political milestone in itself.

However in the cryptoverse, Polis was celebrated in kind as America’s first bitcoin-friendly Governor-elect.

Polis has earned that moniker, of course, in being the inaugural co-chairman of the Congressional Blockchain Caucus, an association in the House of Representatives he launched in February 2017 whose members have worked to put forward legislation welcoming of bitcoin and blockchain.

Some of the measures that have been proposed by its lot to date include the Cryptocurrency Tax Fairness Act, the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act, the Safe Harbor for Taxpayers with Forked Assets Act, and a resolution Expressing Support for Digital Currencies and Blockchain Technology.

“I certainly heard about online currencies and bitcoin for a long time, and I think my initial thought was, it’s about time,” Polis commented as early as 2014.

That attitude will now be present in the heart of the Colorado State Capitol, which could bode well for cryptocurrency enterprises in the state going forward. Polis will formally take office in January 2019.

Newsom To Take Over In Cali, Been Accepting Bitcoin Since 2014

Later on Tuesday, Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA) became Governor-elect in California, and thus is set to become the second pro-bitcoin governor ever in America.

Four years ago, Governor-elect Newsom made a name for himself in the cryptocurrency ecosystem after he became one of the first politicians in the U.S. to embrace political contributions made in bitcoin.

It’s not yet clear how Newsom’s and Polis’s governorships will play out, and if they will make cryptocurrencies even minor elements of their offices’ agendas.

What is clear, however, is that California and Colorado sometimes have a knack for inspiring other states, e.g. on cannabis legalization. Both states have been at the vanguard of state-level cannabis acceptance, and such positions have arguably influenced several other U.S. states to take similar paths.

A similar dynamic could thus ensue if Governor-elect Polis and Governor-elect Newsom continue taking pro-cryptocurrency positions after their inaugurations early next year.

Their elections also point the way for cryptocurrency-minded voters in the future, voters who will surely again have candidates on their ballots who have taken direct positions on cryptocurrencies.

What’s your take? Are more bitcoin-friendly politicos coming in the U.S.? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.